Archive for the 'Philadelphia 76ers' Tag Under 'Lakers' Category

Elton Brand once was viewed as one of the NBA's premier power forwards.

Now, the former Clipper mainstay simply is hoping to resurrect his career after two forgettable seasons. It figures to be an arduous road ahead for Brand to establish himself back among the elite players in the league at his position.

Brand was able to shed the sling he has been wearing on his right arm to begin range-of-motion exercises. It has been a month since he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum of the right shoulder, the same injury that placed the Orlando Magic's title hopes in jeopardy when it resulted in season-ending surgery to its All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson.

Injuries have wiped out the past two years for Brand, who Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry once said about, "Just write down 20 points and 10 rebounds next to his name every night and then go from there.''

With All-Star guard Jameer Nelson having undergone season-ending shoulder surgery Thursday and wary that journeyman guard Anthony Johnson and former Laker Tyronn Lue would bear too much of a burden to get the Magic where it desires to be - the NBA Finals, the Magic helped initiate a three-team trade for enigamatic Houston Rockets guard Rafer Alston.

In the deal, the Rockets get point guard Kyle Lowry from the Memphis Grizzlies, who until recently, had a glut at that position with Lowry, former Laker Javaris Crittenton, second-year guard MikeConley and rookie O.J. Mayo, who has been playing at shooting guard but has expressed the desire to play the point.

But over the past few weeks, the Grizzlies have thinned out the ranks by first trading Crittenton to the Washington Wizards and now by shipping out Lowry.

Houston also will get former Laker forward Brian Cook, whom the Lakers traded 15 months ago to the Orlando Magic in exchange for forward Trevor Ariza.

A new chapter in former Clipper forward Elton Brand's career ended when it was announced that he would undergo season-ending shoulder surgery Monday.

The procedure will be done at the Wilmington Surgery Center in Delaware, the same facility that Brand had surgery performed in the summer of 2007, to repair a ruptured Achilles' tendon.

This has been another lost season for Brand, who is in the first year of a five-year, $82 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Brand signed with the Sixers last summer, after exercising the escape clause in his contract with the Clippers and then spurning the Clippers' attempts to sign him to a new deal.

Brand walked away from a guaranteed $16,440,000 when he left the Clippers to sign with Philadelphia. He explained as part of his reasons for leaving the desire to return to the east coast, where he grew up, and to join a winning organization.

But Brand suffered a torn labrum in December that resulted in him having to miss six weeks. Therapy and rehabilitation was unable to get Brand's shoulder back to full strength, as he discovered in the handful of games that he played upon his return.

Orlando Magic general manager Otis Smith was able to quickly fill a void the team had when All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson was lost Monday with a possible season-ending shoulder injury.

According to the team's website, the Magic on Thursday acquired former Lakers guard Tyronn Lue from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for swingman Keith Bogans and cash considerations.

Lue will pair up with journeyman point guard Anthony Johnson in an attempt to keep the Southeast Division-leading Magic on course to be a factor in the Eastern Conference playoffs in the event that Nelson is unable to return from a torn labrum suffered three nights ago in a loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

In his first game as Nelson's replacement, Johnson scored 25 points and sank six 3-pointers in a victory over the Clippers.

Lue averaged 4.7 points and 1.5 assists in 30 games with the Bucks this season. Believing several weeks ago that he was on the trading block, and with the Lakers' Jordan Farmar out with a knee injury, Lue mused about a possible return to the Lakers, when the Bucks were in town to play the Clippers.

As the old saying goes, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

Former Clippers stalwart Elton Brand has discovered that first hand this season with the Philadelphia 76ers. Brand has struggled offensively, has been injured and currently is awash in rumors that the Sixers are looking to jettison him, after not even a full season into the five-year, $82 million contract the organization signed Brand to last summer.

Philadelphia general manager Ed Stefanski scoffed at rumors of Brand being traded telling Hoops World, "I don't know where these rumors are coming from. We haven't talked to anyone and really it's too early to make an assessment.''

Half true, half fib. Stefanski might not know the source of the rumors. Perhaps they even were fabricated. But as far as talking with anyone...I'm not buying that one. General managers talk with each other all the time, often in hypothetical terms about making trade deals.

For his part, Brand told Hoops World: "I don't worry about that stuff.''

Although an official announcement has yet to be made, Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Lionel Hollins will be named the new head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies.

Hollins is scheduled to be in Memphis before the end of the weekend to work details of his contract out with Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace. Hollins flew to Atlanta on Friday with the Bucks but left the team immediately afterward.

Hollins replaces Marc Iavaroni, who was fired Thursday night after 1 1/2 seasons at the helm.

Assistant coach Johnny Davis is serving as interim coach tonight in New York and will coach the team Saturday at home, when the Grizzlies face the New Jersey Nets.

Hollins and his new staff are scheduled to be in place before the weekend is over to prepare for Tuesday's game against the Denver Nuggets. Hollins reportedly has hired as two of his assistants former Philadelphia 76ers coach Maurice Cheeks and former Clippers director of player personnel Barry Hecker. Davis will be retained by Hollins as an assistant coach.

The Philadelphia 76ers suffered a major loss to their front line in Wednesday night's victory over the Milwaukee Bucks when their leading scorer, Elton Brand, suffered a dislocated right shoulder.

The injury occurred when Brand and Bucks rookie Luc Richard Mbah a Moute collided near the basket. Both went down to the floor in a heap. There is no timetable on Brand's return.

What an unfortunate occurence. Some, like my esteemed colleague Earl Bloom, might call it that same old rotten Clipper luck, following Brand to his new team.

Brand, of course, is with the Sixers after he spurned the Clippers' contract extension offer this past summer, to sign a five-year, $80 milion deal with Philadelphia. But already there are undercurrents of displeasure from the impossible-to-please Philadelphia fans.

Brand has heard a smattering of boos on several occasions from the hometown fans, demanding more from the power forward than the team-leading 15.9 points and 9.8 rebounds that he delivered in 23 games, before his injury.